Our History
Van Schaik Publishers:
Your leading academic publisher since 1915
30 years strong!
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Philip Mohr's influential Economics series, which has shaped first-year Economics studies for many generations of university student.
A new addition to the GRAD family.
The workbook, MyNext - Success in matric and planning your future is launched.
This workbook, published in partnership with Ruda Landman, StudyTrust and Capitec, prepares senior school learners for study, work and starting a business.
This workbook, published in partnership with Ruda Landman, StudyTrust and Capitec, prepares senior school learners for study, work and starting a business.
1 million free GRAD booklets distributed to South African students
A focus on women's health.
Van Schaik's medical list has prioritised women's health for over 25 years.
GradNext - crossing the divide from student to working adult.
The GRAD Series, in conjunction with Ruda Landman, StudyTrust and Capitec, is expanded. GradNext provides guidance to students graduating university and preparing to enter the workforce. 50 000 copies are distributed in 2021.
Our Covid response.
During the Covid-19 lockdown which severely disrupts the first semester of 2020, Van Schaik Publishers assists over 20 000 students with free electronic copies of textbooks, ensuring that these students can complete their semester.
GRAD takes flight.
Capitec comes on board as a sponsor, dramatically boosting annual circulation of GRAD. 168 540 copies are successfully distributed to all 25 public residential universities in 2020, before Covid-19 shuts down the country.
Celebrating one of our longest running academic titles.
2019 sees the celebration of thirty years of South African employment relations, which was first published in 1989.
GRAD - your guide to university success is published.
GRAD, written by Ruda Landman in conjunction with StudyTrust, is designed to help recent school leavers adjust to the demands and challenges that accompany entering university as first-year students. The first 10 000 copies of GRAD are distributed to students at four universities (with support from Investec).
30 years of wildlife management.
Thirty years after the publication of the 1st edition of Wildplaasbestuur, the 6th English edition, Game Ranch Management, is published. This 1000 page tome is widely regarded as a "must have" for anyone working in the South African wildlife industry - 36 000 book sales and 11 editions testify to that!
First interactive ebook published.
We publish an electronic workbook, an all-in-one self-assessment solution for Economics I students.
100 years in the South African market.
Johannes van Schaik's legacy of a small family-run business lives on strongly in two well-established brands: Van Schaik Publishers and Van Schaik Bookstore.
Celebrating our first ebook.
Van Schaik Publishers launches its first digital book First Steps in Research by Kobus Maree. 197 ebooks now live on various platforms.
Van Schaik Bookstore is sold.
Media24 sells Van Schaik Bookstore and for the first time in 93 years, ownership of the bookstore and the publishing company resides in different media companies.
TN Maumela recognised for a lifetime of contributions to literature.
Tshivenda author, TN Maumela, is recognised with a South African Literary Lifetime Achievement Award. He is JL van Schaik's most prolific African language author, writing at least 23 novels, books of short stories and dramas between the 1960s and 1990s.
Public administration flourishing.
Building on the fine public administration list built by JJN Cloete, the first edition of Improving public policy (F Cloete & H Wissink) is published. Twenty years later, this title will still form a core of Van Schaik's public administration list.
New homes.
In keeping with Van Schaik's focus on Higher Education, its trade and school titles are moved to specialised publishing companies within the Media24 Books stable, where each business brings its own expertise to bear on a particular genre.
The company's legacy lives on in the various divisions in its contribution to African languages literature (almost 650 books are moved to Via Afrika Publishers), Afrikaans fiction (Tafelberg), and dictionaries (Pharos).
The company's legacy lives on in the various divisions in its contribution to African languages literature (almost 650 books are moved to Via Afrika Publishers), Afrikaans fiction (Tafelberg), and dictionaries (Pharos).
Renewed focus.
JL van Schaik changes its name to Van Schaik Publishers, completing its evolution into a clearly focused academic publisher with a strong list of curriculum-based textbooks for higher education institutions.
The archive.
The Van Schaik Publishers' archive is transferred to the University of South Africa's library in June 2000.
Foundations.
The late eighties and nineties sees JL van Schaik laying the foundation of the formidable academic list we know today. Pivotal titles, including South African employment relations, Economics for South African students, Clinical obstetrics, and Game Ranch Management.... are first published during these years.
A new era.
JL van Schaik Publishers and Van Schaik Bookstore are bought by Naspers, a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors and operators in the world.
A successful list
By the 1980s, the list of African language grammar books, novels, dramas, and short story and poetry compilations (many published for the school market) account for over half the company's revenue. JL van Schaik authors have won fifteen EM Ramaila awards, among many other publishing accolades.
Death of the founder.
The company's founder, Johannes Lambertus van Schaik, dies.
Sons Hans and Jan van Schaik take over the running of the business. Hans oversees over the bookstores and Jan runs the publishing division.
Sons Hans and Jan van Schaik take over the running of the business. Hans oversees over the bookstores and Jan runs the publishing division.
Academic beginnings.
Pioneering work is started on the development of academic textbooks for the South African market, marking the beginning of what is, today, one of the leading academic backlists in the country.
Textbooks are published in a wide range of disciplines, and authors include JJN Cloete, Ponelis, Eksteen and many more.
Textbooks are published in a wide range of disciplines, and authors include JJN Cloete, Ponelis, Eksteen and many more.
Expansion.
Two new bookstore branches open in Hatfield and Sunnyside. These are the first of what is, today, a large network of branches across South Africa.
The first African language title.
In 1942, MJ Madiba's Sesotho sa Leboa title, Tsiri, is published. Over the years, JL van Schaik will develop and publish a substantial catalogue of over 600 titles in eight African languages.
A split.
The original company is divided and managed as two companies: the bookshop, Van Schaik Bookstore, and the publishing division, JL van Schaik.
A new home.
The company's growth necessitates the building of new premises in Church Street. The new Libri Building will be the home of JL van Schaik for the next fifty-one years.
Eugène Marais.
The extraordinary Die siel van die mier (Eugène Marais) is published in 1933. The book blends natural history with philosophical insight, and remains a seminal work.
Die meisies van Maasdorp.
Die Meisies van Maasdorp by Stella Blakemore is published, the first of more than fifty children's books that she will publish, and a series that remains in print almost 100 years later (alongside the equally popular Keurboslaan series).
Making a mark on the literary world.
In the 1920s and early 1930s, JL van Schaik publishes authors such as CM van den Heever, AG Visser, Mikro, Uys Krige and many more.
Tweetalige Woordeboek by Steyn published.
The first of numerous JL van Schaik dictionaries is published. Some live on to this day at Pharos.
Early successes.
The 1920s and 30s see the publication of seminal works by Jochem van Bruggen, who wins the Hertzog Prize an unprecedented four times, the most by any author to date.
The first textbooks.
JL van Schaik publishes its first school textbooks, in response to a need for Afrikaans textbooks (Afrikaans has only been used in junior schools since 1914). Four years later, Van Schaik publishes the Eerste Afrikaanse Skoolatlas, which will be used in South African classrooms, in various iterations, for the next 40 years.
The first Afrikaans children’s book.
JL van Schaik publishes its first Afrikaans books in 1916, and in 1917 its first Afrikaans children's book appears: Die kaskenades van Klein Duimpie by Tannie van die Brandwag.
The first book is published.
JL van Schaik publishes its first book, the Dutch Beginselen van de Karakterkunde by Dr SO Los.
The beginning.
Dutch immigrant, Johannes Lambertus van Schaik, opens his first bookstore, JL van Schaik, in Church Street, Pretoria.